John H. Powell, 1914 -- 1971, was born in Ottumwa, Iowa. Educated at Swarthmore College and the University of Iowa, he later taught history at Iowa State University and the University of Delaware. Powell also served as the research director of the Free Library of Pennsylvania, 1945 -- 1949.

Powell wrote many historical works, including Richard Rush, Republican Diplomat and Bring Out Your Dead, a work concerning the yellow fever epidemic of 1793. He authored numerous articles for such magazines as the Saturday Review of Literature, Reader's Digest, and South Atlantic Quarterly. John Powell died January 1, 1971.

The John H. Powell papers include approximately three linear feet of material and consist primarily of correspondence and material involved with his various writings. The correspondence series includes letters from historians such as Catherine Drinker Bowen, Julian Boyd, Lyman Butterfield, and Caroline Robbins. The writings series includes notes and various drafts of his works and two unpublished plays. The American Philosophical Society Library also has a collection of John H. Powell's papers, primarily those concerning Powell's biography of John Dickinson.

The American Philosophical Society Library also has a collection of John H. Powell's papers, primarily those concerning Powell's biography of John Dickinson.